The American Political Items Collectors National Convention Is Slated For July 6 To 10
National Convention Will Be Held In Harrisburg, Pa.
Attendees from among the club's 1,600 members will have an event-packed agenda available to them, including buying and selling at a 200-table bourse and visiting numerous local points of interest, from the Gettysburg Battlefield to the home of James Buchanan Jr., the 15th President of the United States. The focus throughout will be on Pennsylvania's rich political history, and an all-out effort will be made to engage the public and showcase the fascinating hobby of political memorabilia collecting.
"On Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10, we'll do something we've never done before, and that's open our doors to the public, free of charge. Even the parking will be free," said convention co-chair Ted Hake, who founded the York, Pa., auction house Hake's Americana, the event's Keystone-Level sponsor. "We want to make this an educational experience for all ages. Guests can browse the sellers' tables and view a wealth of rare political memorabilia spanning a 200-year timeline, with values from $5 to $50,000. There will also be every imaginable type of vintage pop culture collectible for sale, from comic character, sports and rock music to advertising and WWII relics." To encourage youngsters to attend, every visitor under 16 will receive a free bag of political campaign buttons plus a special button created for the event.
"There's a lot to do in central Pennsylvania, between the world-class museums, historical sites, and family-fun attractions like Hersheypark, the paddlewheel boat on the Susquehanna River, and FNB Field, where the Harrisburg Senators play baseball, said Hake. As a Pennsylvanian, I was personally thrilled that we were able to bring this exciting convention to Harrisburg for the first time ever. Because the Democratic National Convention will be taking place in Philadelphia from July 25 through the 28, Harrisburg was the ideal choice.
Seminars for registered conventioneers will be held on the mornings of Wednesday and Thursday, July 6 and 7. Topics will include: leveraging the web; visual rhetoric and suffrage memorabilia; the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and its consequences; the origins and legacy of the SDS; estate planning; and an auctioneers' panel discussion of what's hot and what's not. The keynote speaker on Thursday evening will be Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Dr. John Milton Cooper, Jr., who will discuss the 1916 presidential election that pitted Woodrow Wilson against Charles E. Hughes.
APIC is one of America's most respected collector clubs, with a history that goes back to 1945. Its current membership includes three U.S. Presidents, many politicians and campaign staffers, broadcast journalists, and collectors from a broad spectrum of professions.
"Because this is an election year and the world will be watching Pennsylvania during the month of July, we expect the excitement level to be off the charts at our national convention," said Hake. "Don't be surprised if you see a very convincing 'General Douglas MacArthur' walking around the convention floor on Saturday. We've arranged for some incredible impersonators to attend the convention, the 'general' being one of them. We also have 'Dean Martin' and 'Frank Sinatra' lined up to entertain at the members banquet. Electing a new president may be a serious endeavor, but there's nothing serious about the tone of our conventions. They're all about camaraderie and a common interest in history and collecting," said Hake.
The APIC welcomes new members. For an annual basic membership charge of $38 ($15 under 12 years of age), new enrollees can opt to take part in the club's member-only convention activities, including a banquet, trivia competition, early buying, and field trips (some fees apply).
For additional information, visit www.apic.us or call Ted Hake at 717-434-1630.
Images courtesy of Hake's Americana.
About the APIC
The American Political Items Collectors (APIC) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to promoting the collection, preservation and study of materials relating to political campaigns and the presidency. Founded in 1945, the APIC's membership of collectors and enthusiasts crosses 35 states and encompasses all walks of life. The group includes educators, students, archivists, historians, members of Congress and other elected officials, political junkies, campaign staffers, print, broadcast and cable news journalists, museum curators and even three past U.S. presidents.
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